Flash Philanthropy is becoming a movement: The Tweetuplift Example

Moira Nordholt's Tweetuplift December 2008

Since the inaugural voyage of The Schwaggin Wagon, I’ve been more aware of examples of people using the power of new media to quickly organize and mobilize individuals for brief acts of philanthropy–what I’ve called Flash Philanthropy. Now that the microblogging site, Twitter, has a larger user base, there is a greater potential for ad hoc acts of charitable mobilization that take less and less time to set in motion. Simply put: Twitter gets the word out fast when it’s time to create ad hoc groups based on a shared idea.

Back in the Spring of 2008, six of us organized the wagon project in less than 10 days, and it played out in 72 hours. A few days ago, vegan consultant and cookbook author Moira Nordholt organized her Tweetuplift in less than 48 hours and it played out in two! We used Twitter in the service of our project, whereas Moria used Twitter to organize her project in the first place. How did she gather ten people to give up their time on Christmas day (in order to hand out food and supplies to those in need)? How did she gather them in the pouring rain, with no mandate or preconceived structure, giving less than two days of lead time for anyone to alter their plans? Answer: Twitter–but not just Twitter. Specifically the fact that well-known and well-followed people chose to take up her cause and “re-tweet” her call on Twitter, meaning they re-broadcasted the call for volunteers for which Moira had originally asked. This allowed a wider audience of people to hear about the ad hoc event, and choose to take part.

Moira’s Twitter handle is @feelgoodguru. Among those who helped were @invisiblepeople, @vaguelyartistic, @AlexisNeely (who brought multiple family members and had been looking for such an opportunity when she saw the tweet), @JackiePeters, and @ronproulx. Re-tweets came from @rhetor (me), @lizstrauss, @perrybelcher, @scobleizer, @heathermilligan, @HarpArora, @Andrewjustin, @cfl_homeless, @nakisnakis, @linnetwoods, @Peppersantblai, @lovemorenow, @mrken777, @amoyal, @mandamin, @bcross, and @LAist. You can check out Moira’s recap of the event here. And the Laist post here. Bottom line: They handed out food and 100 scores of ponchos to some very cold and hungry individuals, and by doing so they made a difference in people’s lives.

Here’s the punchline regarding Twitter and this instance of flash philanthropy: Moira has only been a member of Twitter for less than a month, and she doesn’t have a vast network of friends in Los Angeles because she lives mostly in Toronto. She probably has less than 20 followers on Twitter who live in Los Angeles! She tells me:

“Twitter is a way of finding your tribe members and then taking it from there…when you tweet something you’re passionate about… it’s a great way of getting people to come out of the woodwork”

It sure is. Will we see future Tweetuplifts in all the major cities in the U.S.? I wouldn’t be surprised if we do. The “flash” in flash philanthropy can spark something far beyond the initial act, and I give a great deal of credit to the Moira Nordholts of the world. Keep flashing!